Breathing exercises help people relax, because breathing exercises make the body feel like it does when it is already relaxed. Deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body. This is because when breathing deeply the body sends a message to the brain to calm down and relax. The brain in turn sends this message to the body. Things that happen when stressed, such as increased heart rate, fast breathing, and high blood pressure, all decrease when breathing deeply to relax.
The idea behind relaxation breathing is that the brain has received inaccurate information in its “suffocation monitor” and it signals back a warning that begins a process of hyperventilation. The effect is an attempt to keep breathing in life-threatening situations. Once the level of CO2, which seems to trigger this alarm, is stabilized, breathing returns to normal. So relaxation breathing is a means of changing this CO2 level.
Breathe affects the whole body. Full, deep breathing is a good way to reduce tension, feel relaxed, and reduce stress. When relaxed, breathing tends to be slow and gentle. Breathing can be shallow or deep; one of the ways breathing exercises help relax is getting a person to feel the way they do when they are already relaxed.
There are different ways to breathe to relax. When stressed, breathing exercises have health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, slowing a fast heart rate, reducing sweat, and helping with digestion. Murray M T, Pizzorno J E Jr. Stress management. In J E Pizzorno Jr, M T Murray, eds., Textbook of Natural Medicine, 3rd ed., vol. 1, pp. 701-708. St. Louis: Churchill Livingstone (2006); see also Payne R Relaxation Techniques: A Practical Handbook for the Health Care Professional, 3rd ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone (2005). Breathing exercises can be done whenever and wherever. Breathing exercises do not take long to do and do not require costly expenditures such as for example joining a gym.
There are lots of breathing exercises that can help relax. For example, belly breathing is simple to learn and easy to do. One simply sits in a comfortable position. One hand is placed on the belly just below your ribs and the other hand on the chest. A deep breath is taken in through the nose, and the belly pushes the hand out. The chest should not move. Breathe out through pursed lips. Feel the hand on the belly go in, and use it to push all the air out. Do this breathing 3 to 10 times.
A related breathing exercise is the 4-7-8 breathing exercise. This can be done either sitting or lying down. To start, put one hand on the belly and the other on the chest as in the belly breathing exercise. A deep, slow breath is taken from the belly, and when breathing in silently count to four. With breath held, silently count from one to seven. Breathe out completely and silently count from one to eight. Try to get all the air out of the lungs by the time eight is achieved. Repeat 3 to 7 times 1 m.
A more advanced breathing exercise is roll breathing. The object of roll breathing is to develop full use of the lungs and to focus on the rhythm of breathing. Put the left hand on the belly and the right hand on the chest. Notice how the hands move as breathing occurs. Practice filling the lower lungs by breathing so that the belly (left) hand goes up during inhale and the chest (right) hand remains still. Always breathe in through the nose and breathe out through the mouth. Do this 8 to 10 times.
When the lower lungs have filled and emptied 8 to 10 times, a second step is added to the breathing: inhale first into the lower lungs as before, and then continue inhaling into the upper chest. The right hand will rise and the left hand will fall a little as the belly falls. Exhale slowly through the mouth, as first the left hand and then the right hand fall. During exhale, tension leaves the body. Practice breathing in and out in this way for 3 to 5 minutes. Notice that the movement of the belly and chest rises and falls like the motion of rolling waves.
A breathing exercise to use first thing in the morning to relieve muscle stiffness and clear clogged breathing passages is morning breathing. From a standing position, bend forward from the waist with the knees slightly bent, letting the arms dangle close to the floor. Inhale slowly and deeply, while returning to a standing position by rolling up slowing, lifting the head last. Hold the breath for just a few seconds in this standing position. Exhale slowly while returning to the original position, bending forward from the waist.
A more spontaneous breathing exercise can help wherever stress levels soar. This exercise in breathing can be done for as little as 3 to 5 minutes at a time. Sit upright in a comfortable position. Focus on present state and existence (this is often termed being “mindful”). Block out intrusive thoughts. Close the eyes. Pay attention to breathing. Inhale slowly through the nose, taking several seconds. Exhale through the mouth, trying to make the exhalation phase last twice as long as the inhalation. Continue this mindful breathing for 3 to 5 minutes.
A well know breathing technique used in childbirth is the Lamaze Technique. Developed in the 1940s by French obstetrician Dr. Fernand Lamaze as an alternative to the use of medical intervention during childbirth, Dr. Lamaze was influenced by Soviet childbirth practices, which involved breathing and relaxation techniques under the supervision of a “monitrice” or midwife. Lamaze breathing techniques teach a pattern of breathing to decrease the feeling of pain. As each contraction begins a deep or “cleansing” breath is taken. This deep breath is followed by slow, deep breathing in through the nose and out through pursed lips. The focus on careful breathing distracts and decreases perception of discomfort. If the urge to push is felt before the cervix is fully dilated, more rapid, short breaths are recommended.
What all these breathing techniques share is the importance of inhaling through the nose and exhaling through a properly positioned mouth; indeed, particularly with newcomers (as most newly expectant mothers are, for example), concentrating on the proper mouth position detracts from the relaxation. It is only with a great deal of practice that one comes to the properly positioned mouth unconsciously; again, for example, a newly expectant mother may not achieve this level of practice, particularly when called upon to perform breathing techniques during the stress of birth. What would thus be useful would be an aid in breathing techniques.